Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord asks Job some questions[a]
38 The Lord spoke to Job from the middle of the storm. This is what he said:
2 ‘Who do you think you are?
Why do you ask questions about my wisdom?
You speak many words,
but you do not understand anything.
3 Prepare yourself for a difficult job!
I will ask you some questions and you must answer them.
4 Were you with me when I made the world?
If you think you are so clever,
tell me all about it!
5 It was me who decided the size of the world.
You surely must know that!
I measured it as I made it.
6 Tell me how I fixed the foundations of the earth.
Who made it stay in its right place? I did!
7 At the dawn of that day, the stars sang together.
They sang for joy with all the angels.
8 When the sea poured out of the ground,
I decided where its borders should be.
I kept the water in its right place.
9 I caused the clouds to come over the sea.
I covered it with complete darkness.
10 I put a border around the sea.
I locked it in its place.
11 I said to the sea, “This is as far as you can come.
You may come no further.
Your powerful waves must stop there!”
God takes care of his people[a]
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love for his people continues for ever.
2 Everyone that the Lord has rescued
should tell others.
Tell them how he has rescued you
from the enemy's power.
3 He brought his people from foreign countries.
He brought them together from the east and the west,
from the north, and from the south.[b]
23 Some people were traders
who travelled far across the sea in ships.
24 They saw the great things that the Lord did,
even in the middle of the deep seas.
25 He would command a storm to come,
so that the wind caused big waves to rise up.
26 The waves threw the ships up high in the air,
then dropped them deep down.
The danger made the sailors afraid,
and they thought that they would die.
27 Like drunk people, they could not stand or walk properly.
They did not know what to do!
28 Because of their trouble,
they called to the Lord for help.
He rescued them from their troubles.
29 He caused the storm to stop,
so that the waves became quiet.
30 The sailors were happy when it became quiet.
God led them safely to the port,
where they wanted to go.
31 So they should thank the Lord
because of his faithful love.
They should thank him for the great things
that he does for people.
32 They should praise the Lord
when they meet together.
They should praise him
at the meeting of their leaders.
6 So, as we work together with God, we tell you to be careful. Remember that God has been very kind and he has forgiven you. Do not waste that! 2 In the Bible God says:
‘I listened to your prayer at the right time for me to help you.
I helped you on the right day for me to save you.’[a]
Listen! The right time is now! The day for God to save you is now!
3 We do not want anyone to think bad things about our work. So we do nothing that might cause trouble for anyone. 4 Instead, in everything that we do, we want to show that we are God's servants. When people want to hurt us, we are patient and brave. We have many troubles. We become sad and upset. 5 Sometimes people hit us. They put us in prison. They attack us. But we work hard. We cannot always sleep at night. We are often hungry. 6 We serve God honestly and with clean thoughts. We know what is true. We are patient and kind. God's Holy Spirit helps us. We love people in an honest way. 7 We speak a true message. God's power gives us strength. We do what is right, so we fight like soldiers on God's behalf. It is like we have God's weapons in both hands! 8 Sometimes people respect us as important. Sometimes they think that we are worth nothing. People may insult us, or they may praise us. We only say true things, but some people still think that we deceive others. 9 Some people do not want to know us. Other people accept us as God's servants. It seems like we are dying, but look! We are still alive! People punish us, but they do not kill us. 10 We seem to be sad, but really we are always happy. We seem to be poor, but we make many people rich. We seem to have nothing, but really we have everything.
11 Our friends at Corinth, we have spoken to you very honestly. We have shown you how much we love you. 12 We have done nothing to stop you from being our friends. But you have not really wanted to become our friends. 13 I am speaking to you as I would speak to my own children. Be fair to us! Accept us as your friends, just as we have accepted you.
Jesus stops a storm
35 On that same day, in the evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘We should go across the lake to the other side.’ 36 So they went and left the crowd behind. Jesus was already in the boat. So the disciples took him across the lake. Some other boats also went with them. 37 Then a strong wind began to blow across the lake. Water began to go into the boat and fill it. Soon the boat was almost going under the water. 38 Jesus was in a comfortable place at the back of the boat. He was sleeping. The disciples woke him. They said to him, ‘Teacher, we will die here in the water! Please do something!’
39 Jesus woke up and he spoke strongly to the wind and to the water. ‘Be quiet!’ he said. ‘Stop!’ Then the wind stopped and the water became quiet again.
40 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You should not be afraid like that. You should trust me.’
41 But the disciples became very afraid. They said to each other, ‘Who is this man? Even the wind and the water obey him.’
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